FILE - In this July 31, 1980 file photo, Yuriy Sedykh of the Soviet Union prepares to throw the hammer to win the gold medal and set new world and Olympic records at the Moscow Olympics. Two-time ...

This story appears in the June 27, 2011 issue of ESPN The Magazine. THE SOUND OF 100,000 HANDS CLAPPING has been messing with Yuriy Sedykh's mind all day. Three times he has stepped into the throwing ...

On June 6, 1986, Juergen Schult set the world discus record at a meet in East Germany, reaching 74.08 meters. Nearly three months later, Yuriy Sedykh did the same for the hammer throw, setting the new ...

MOSCOW (AP) — Yuriy Sedykh, a two-time Olympic champion in the hammer throw whose world record from 1986 still stands, has died. He was 66. The Russian track and field federation said Sedykh died ...

Widely regarded as the greatest hammer thrower in history, Yuriy Sedykh has died aged 66 in France. Representing the Soviet Union, he won Olympic titles in 1976 and 1980, plus a world crown in 1991, ...

MOSCOW (AP) — Yuriy Sedykh, a two-time Olympic champion in the hammer throw whose world record from 1986 still stands, has died. He was 66. The Russian track and field federation said Sedykh died ...

Yuriy Sedykh, a two-time Olympic champion in the hammer throw whose world record from 1986 still stands, has died. He was 66. The Russian track and field federation said Sedykh died early Tuesday ...

Yuriy Sedykh, a two-time Olympic champion in the hammer throw whose world record from 1986 still stands, has died. He was 66. The Russian track and field federation said Sedykh died early Tuesday ...

MOSCOW: Yuriy Sedykh, a two-time Olympic champion in the hammer throw whose world record from 1986 still stands, has died. He was 66. The Russian track and field federation said Sedykh died early ...

IMAGE: Yuriy Sedykh won gold at the 1976 and 1980 Olympics, but missed the 1984 Los Angeles Games because of a Soviet boycott. Photograph: Mike Powell/Getty Images Yuriy Sedykh, a two-time Olympic ...